Vehicle wheel balance weights

ABSTRACT

A vehicle wheel weight has a mass portion of a nonlead material configured as a strip having a plurality of weight segments. Adjacent weight segments are separated by a transverse groove defined in the strip. Each of the grooves is configured so as to provide a web of reduced width thickness that flexibly interconnects adjacent segments. An adhesive is provided at a back surface of the strip to permit attachment of the strip to a vehicle wheel. A release liner is located on the adhesive to protect the adhesive prior to use.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a divisional of copending application Ser. No.10/620,309, filed Jul. 15, 2003, which claims the benefit of provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/396,075, filed Jul. 15, 2002, and provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/411,961, filed Sep. 19, 2002. The aforementionedapplications are relied upon and incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wheel balance weights.

In order to reduce excessive vibration, vehicle wheels are oftenbalanced by placing weights at selected locations. The weights include amass portion which is attached to the wheel's rim using a spring clip ora suitable adhesive. Due to high mass and low cost, such weights havebeen made of lead. Because of various factors, however, it is becomingdesirable to manufacture such weights of materials other than lead.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a variety of configurations for a vehiclewheel weight. Preferred embodiments utilize iron or low carbon steel formass instead of lead as has generally been used in the past. Manyembodiments are attached to the wheel using a spring clip preferablymade of spring steel. In such embodiments, a depression or groove may beformed in the center section of the mass with a width that matches thespring clip as required to achieve the desired fit during assembly.Depth of the groove may match the spring clip thickness or be slightlygreater. The depth match would continue around the mass surface asrequired to provide a nest for the clip.

In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, theweight may comprise a mass portion configured as a strip of one or moreinterconnected weight segments having adhesive on a back surfacethereof. For example, the adhesive may be provided by double-sided tapelocated on the back surface of the strip. Preferably, the release linerof the tape will extend a short distance beyond the longitudinal end ofthe strip so as to provide a pull tab at this location. The segments aredefined and interconnected by grooves formed in the nonlead material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forthmore particularly in the remainder of the specification, includingreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view taken along line 1B—1B of FIG. 1Ashowing the wheel weight further mounted to the rim of a wheel;

FIG. 1C is a bottom view of the wheel weight of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a cross sectional view of the mass portion of a vehicle wheelweight in accordance with the present invention made solely of a nonleadmaterial such as iron or low carbon steel;

FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 2A but showing a massportion made of an outer sheath of nonlead material with lead on theinside;

FIG. 3A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention before material for retaining the clip is swaged into place;

FIG. 3B is a cross sectional view taken along line 3B—3B of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a bottom view of the wheel weight of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a view similar to FIG. 3A but with the retaining materialswaged into place;

FIG. 3E is a cross sectional view taken along line 3E—3E of FIG. 3D;

FIG. 3F is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 3F—3F of FIG.3D;

FIG. 4A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view taken along line 4B—4B of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 4C—4C of FIG.4A;

FIG. 5A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5B is a cross sectional view taken along line 5B—5B of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 5C—5C of FIG.5A;

FIG. 6A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view taken along line 6B—6B of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 6C—6C of FIG.6A;

FIG. 7A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view taken along line 7B—7B of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 7C—7C of FIG.7A;

FIG. 8A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view taken along line 8B—8B of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C is a bottom view of the wheel weight of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view diagrammatically illustrating one techniquefor producing the mass portion of nonlead wheel weights in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views of the mass material at thelocations indicated by lines 9A—9A and 9B—9B, respectively;

FIG. 10 is a plan view diagrammatically illustrating the steps that takeplace at the forming station indicated by line 10—10 of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an eighth embodiment of a vehicle wheelweight constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12A is a side elevational view of a tape-on version of a vehiclewheel weight constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12B is a plan view of the wheel weight of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12C is an enlarged view of the portion so indicated in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12D is an enlarged end view of the wheel weight of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13A is an enlarged fragmentary view of an alternative tape-weightconstructed in accordance with the present invention as shown from theside;

FIG. 13B is a top view of the tape-weight shown in FIG. 13A;

FIG. 14A is a side elevational view of a further tape-on weightconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14B is a plan view of the wheel weight of FIG. 14A;

FIG. 14C is an enlarged end view of the wheel weight of FIG. 14A; and

FIG. 14D shows a vehicle wheel in section, with the wheel weight of FIG.14A mounted thereto.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elementsof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, andis not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentinvention, which broader aspects are embodied in the exemplaryconstructions.

FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate a vehicle wheel weight 10 constructed inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown,wheel weight 10 includes a mass portion 12 to which a spring clip 14 isattached. As shown, clip 14 (which may be made from spring steel) islocated in a groove 16 which has a depth preferably equal to or slightlygreater than the thickness of clip 14. As can be seen in FIG. 1B, clip14 serves to attach weight 10 to the rim 18 of a vehicle wheel.

As shown, clip 14 is preferably configured as a C-shaped member suchthat it “wraps around” mass portion 12 on the side opposite to rim 18.Clip 14 is retained in this case by one or more spot welds (such as spotweld 20) at suitable locations. For example, the spot weld may be madeat the point on the clip most distant from the wheel rim flange. This isto prevent tempering of the spring steel of clip 14 near the locationwhere the wheel rim is to be engaged.

Mass portion 12 is preferably made from a nonlead material havingsuitable mass, such as iron, low carbon steel or an impregnatedpolymeric. (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,422 to Sakaki et al., incorporatedherein by reference.) In FIG. 2A, mass portion 12 is preferably madeentirely of iron or low carbon steel. Often, a 1008 steel will beespecially preferred. FIG. 2B illustrates an alternative mass portion12′ in which an outer sheath 22 of nonlead metal is filled with lead 24.In this way the lead component is encased within a skin of steel orother suitable rugged material.

FIGS. 3A through 3F illustrate a wheel weight 30 constructed inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown,weight 30 includes a mass portion 32 and a spring clip 34. In this case,clip 34 is attached via raised portions 36 (FIGS. 3A–3C) of massmaterial located at the sides of the groove in which clip 34 is seated.Raised portions 36 are then swaged over top of clip 34 (as indicated at38 in FIGS. 3D–3F) to cause an interference fit with the clip.

FIGS. 4A through 4C illustrate a wheel weight 40 constructed inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Weight 40includes a mass portion 42 defining a groove into which a spring clip 44is seated. Unlike the embodiment of FIGS. 3A–3F, this embodiment doesnot utilize a raised area beside the groove. Instead, the sides of thegroove are swaged into the clip at points with a staking technique (asindicated at 46) to give a “stitched look.”

A further embodiment of a wheel weight 50 constructed in accordance withthe present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5A through 5C. Weight 50includes a mass portion 52 defining a groove into which a spring clip 54is seated. As indicated at 56, the sides of the groove are swaged intothe clip as described above except that a “wedge” is used to cause thetop of the groove to close.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A through 6C, a wheel weight 60 constructed inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. Weight 60 includes a mass portion 62 defining a groove intowhich a spring clip 64 is seated. In this case, the spring clip 64 maybe approximately L-shaped (rather than C-shaped as in previousembodiments). As indicated at 66, an interference fit is created byproviding the clip with serrated edges which are pressed into a groovehaving a width slightly less than the clip width. In this embodiment, itmay be optionally desirable to also perform some swaging of material tofurther secure the interference fit.

FIGS. 7A through 7C illustrate a wheel weight 70 constructed inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Weight 70includes a mass portion 72 defining a groove into which an L-shapedspring clip 74 is seated. To secure the two components, an indention isdefined in each side of the clip. In this case, for example, theindention is formed as a ⅓ circle. As indicated at 76, the groove isswaged enough to force metal into the indention as well as over the topof the clip.

FIGS. 8A through 8C illustrate a further embodiment in which a wheelweight 80 is constructed in accordance with the present invention. Itcan be seen that weight 80 is similar to weight 10, except the massportion 82 and spring clip 84 are joined with a suitable adhesive (asindicated at 86) instead of spot welding. Although a stripe ofstructural adhesive as shown in the drawing may often be sufficient, inmany cases it will be desirable to apply the adhesive liberally over themating surfaces.

Referring now to FIGS. 9–10, one method of producing the mass portionfrom iron or low carbon steel will be described. This method utilizesraw material that is either round in cross-section or preformed with ashape that is either the same as or is substantially similar to thecross-section of the mass portion to be formed (such as round for awheel balance weight). One “piece” of raw material would contain enoughmaterial for numerous wheel weight masses. This may be either a long rod90 or a coil 92 with enough material for hundreds or thousands offinished mass portions.

In this case, the mass forming machinery comprises three subsystemsworking together. These may be described as follows:

1. Material handling and supply 94—Either an “uncoiler” or rod feedingequipment is provided to deliver the raw material (e.g., iron).

2. Forming rolls 96 and 98 (or other suitable rolling machine) areprovided to form the long (wheel size) radius and pre-form the shapethat will fit into the rim flange. The amount of pre-forming would beinversely proportional to the size of press being used.

3. A metal forming press 100 is used to finish the rim flange shape,form a groove for the wheel balance weight clip, stamp productinformation into the surface, and cut to the required length. The pressworking surfaces would be a die that may be progressive or not dependingon press size and part details. A large press forming a large part maybe able to form all surfaces and cut to length in one stroke.Alternatively, small parts may need to be made in a progressive fashionto get all forming surfaces to bear on a small area. A small press couldform a large part by using a progressive die and distributing the workover more than one press cycle.

As an alternative to the details shown in FIG. 10, it may be desirablein some cases to form the cut-off “Preform” prior to “Shape Finishing.”In fact some of the die operations might be done before the die. The diecould then be a stamping/trim die.

Finally, suitable corrosion protection materials may be applied afterassembling the mass and clip. Other finishing may or may not be requireddepending on customer finishing requirements.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a further embodiment of a wheel weight 110constructed in accordance with the present invention. Weight 110includes a mass portion 112 defining a cavity 114 in which spring clip116 is inserted. Specifically, mass portion 112 may be cold formed withcavity 114 form fitted inside the body of the weight. This willeliminate the need for having the clip extend over either the front orback of the clip.

FIGS. 12A–12D illustrate an alternative embodiment in which the weightsmay be attached to the wheel rim using an adhesive coating (i.e., atape-on weight). Preferably, the mass portions are formed as a flexiblestring of nonlead mass material having a predetermined number ofsegments. A covering (i.e., a release liner) which protects the adhesiveis removed when it is desired to attached the mass portion(s) to thewheel. The illustrated embodiment has several significant features,including: (1) deep grooves formed into its surface to make the stringconformable to different size wheels, and (2) a unique pull tabarrangement.

As can be seen, tape-on weight 120 includes a mass portion formed as astrip 122 of suitable nonlead material. Strip 122 is divided into aplurality of segments 124 defined by respective grooves 126. Groove 126is formed as deep as possible, while leaving a small uncut zone 128 atthe bottom. Zone 128 permits the string to be flexed so as to conform tothe arc of the rim to which it is to be attached. Each of the segments124 will preferably have a predetermined weight, such as 5 grams.

In this embodiment, the adhesive is provided in the form of a two-sidedtape 130 attached to the bottom surface of string 122. Preferably, tape130 will include a conformable carrier of foam or the like havingadhesive on each side. A release liner 132 is located on the back sideof tape 130 so as to cover the adhesive until use. As illustrated inFIG. 12D, the release liner may actually be formed as two pieces of tape132A and 132B configured to provide pull tables for easy removal. Inthis case, liner portion 132 a is folded back on itself as shown in FIG.12D.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate an alternative embodiment of a tape weight140 constructed in accordance with the present invention. Weight 140includes a mass portion formed as a strip 142 of weight segments 143defined by transverse grooves 145. Groove 145 is configured to leave asmall uncut zone 146 near the bottom of strip 142. A double-sided tape147 is located on the back side of strip 142. A release liner 148 isprovided behind double-sided tape 147 so as to protect the adhesive.

A small tab 149 connected to (or integral with) release liner 148extends from the longitudinal end of strip 142 so as to facilitateremoval of release liner 148. In this case, tab 149 is formed as aseparate piece of tape which overlaps the end of release liner 148 (asindicated at 150) and overlaps itself (as indicated at 151). Siliconetapes are believed to be particularly suitable for tab 149.

Generally, weight 140 will be sold in a variety of different numbers ofsegments depending upon the total weight to be achieved. For example, atypical construction may have two to six segments of 5 grams each. As aresult, total weight will fall in a range of 10–60 grams. Larger weightsizes may also be desirable in certain applications.

Preferably, zone 146 will be as thin as possible in order to provide forgreatest flexibility. For example, embodiments are contemplated in whichthe thickness of zone 146 is about three thousandths of an inch.Generally, the thickness would not exceed twenty thousandths inpresently preferred embodiments.

It is also desirable that the width of groove 145 be substantial so asto prevent surface treatment bridging which adds stiffness to theoverall weight. Specifically, the weight may be subjected to a varietyof surface treatments in order to reduce corrosion and the like. Forexample, zinc plating (or zinc phosphate wash) followed by epoxy powderand painting may be employed. Making groove 145 of sufficient width willprevent these surface treatments from adding significant stiffness tothe overall weight. In presently preferred embodiments, the width ofgroove 145 will typically be at least fifty thousandths of an inch atits widest point (the mouth). Often, widths of around 130 thousandthswill be preferred.

Referring now to FIGS. 14A–14D, a further embodiment of a tape-on weightconstructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated. As can beseen, tape-on weight 160 is made of non-lead material, such as iron orlow carbon steel. The mass portion 162 of weight 160 is preformed in anarc having a radius approximating that of the surface to which it is tobe mounted. Dimensions (such as length) of the wheel weight aredetermined based on the desired mass. In addition, the weight must notbe made of a size (e.g., thickness and width) such that it wouldinterfere with the operation of other vehicle parts.

An adhesive (here in the form of a double-sided tape 164) is located onthe outer diameter of mass portion 162. Although mass portion 162 willgenerally be rigid, the presence of the adhesive will provide a degreeof elasticity (conformability) to accommodate varying wheel diameters.The adhesive is protected prior to use using a release liner 166, whichis in this example similar to release liner 132 (FIG. 12D).

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, modifications and variations may be made thereto by those ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention. In addition, it should be understood that aspectsof the various embodiments may be interchanged both in whole or in part.Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theforegoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended tobe limitative of the invention as further described in the appendedclaims.

1. A vehicle wheel weight comprising: a mass portion of a nonleadmaterial configured as a strip having a plurality of weight segments,said strip having a top surface and a back surface; adjacent weightsegments being separated by a transverse groove defined in said topsurface of said strip, each of said grooves being configured so as toprovide a reduced thickness web at said back surface of said strip, saidweb flexibly interconnecting adjacent segments; an adhesive at said backsurface of said strip to permit attachment of said strip to a vehiclewheel; a release liner located on said adhesive to protect said adhesiveprior to use; and a release liner pull tab attached to said releaseliner and extending from an end of said strip, said pull tab being usedto remove said release liner prior to attachment of said weight to avehicle wheel.
 2. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1,wherein said adhesive is carried by a double-sided tape.
 3. A vehiclewheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said strip has between twoand twelve segments inclusive.
 4. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said reduced thickness web has a thickness no greaterthan approximately 20 thousandths of an inch.
 5. A vehicle wheel weightas set forth in claim 4, wherein said reduced thickness web has athickness of at least approximately three thousandths of an inch.
 6. Avehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of saidtransverse grooves has a widest width of at least about fiftythousandths of an inch.
 7. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim6, wherein said widest width of each of said transverse grooves isapproximately one hundred thirty thousandths of an inch.
 8. A vehiclewheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said nonlead material islow carbon steel.
 9. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 8,wherein said nonlead material is 1008 steel.